Two Clock Analogy
One clock is not sufficient to tell the time. This might seem odd at first, but it is no more than the rotational analogue of the concept that a single particle has no way to tell its velocity. A single electron in an empty universe has no way of knowing whether it is 'stationary' or 'moving'. In fact, these concepts are non-existent without some relative frame to define them. This highlights the concept that space and time are relative to the observer. In the same way, a single clock cannot tell you the time. By a single clock, I mean a single rotating object. A clock is usually composed of three rotating 'hands' and a stationary 'face'. If you take away two of the hands, you still have a means of knowing the time (e.g. if you keep the hour hand, you just won't have precision of seconds and minutes anymore). However, if you then also take away the 'face' - that is, the stationary frame - and placed this single clock in an empty universe then the clock has no way of knowing whether it is rotating or stationary. A single clock cannot know the time. Consciousness However, if you are an external observer looking at the clock hand ("clock"), you can see whether it appears to be rotating or not. If it is, then you can use it to tell the time. You can count events. This is the foundation of consciousness: the ability to observe change (by correlation to past memories). But how does one know whether the clock is rotating, or whether you are actually the one rotating and the clock is stationary? This is arbitrary, all that can be said is that there is a relative rotation. If we introduce a face behind the clock that is also stationary from your point of view (reference frame) then you can feel more certain that the clock is indeed rotating and you are stationary, but from the clock's point of view both you and the face are rotating around it (see Angular Relativity Theory). Astrology Analogy When everything in your optical field of view appears stationary relative to your frame of reference, it can appear that the remaining objects that are rotating, must be "orbiting" you. However, orbiting objects keep a fairly steady angular velocity as they rotate around an object only gradually decaying into slower orbits as they lose momentum to frictional resistance in their path (collisions, dislocations, etc). while some objects like "the Morning star" (Venus showed clear bi-directional osciallations in relative position across the sky that astronomers had deemed to be the most stationary frame (accepting that the Earth rotated around every 24 hours, giving us all a daily 360 ^\circ view the zodiac but only the section of the zodiac currently centered opposite the sun. During the month of May, the sun is said to be in Taurus (until ~May 23), yet the most visible part of the zodiac at midnight during this month will be Scorpio for both the Eastern and Western, as well as the Nothern and Southern hemispheres - we all share the same sky : different permutations of it : Some have the Eastern Zodiac (Virgo to Libra to Scorpio) on the left of a May moon (and the sun rising from left to right from a northern frame of reference) : I grew up with the Western Zodiac (Scorpio to Sagittarius and Capricorn) on the moon's left (and the sun rising from right to left from our southern frame of reference) : Some grow up with Left and Right orientations swapping as the zodiac appears to pass over their rotational path at night depending on the time of year (equatorial regions) Many cultures could not accept this evidence that the Earth was not the centre of the sun's orbit, but rather that the Earth orbited the sun and rotated at the same time, because the Earth is filled with objects which appear stationary from our surface-dwelling frame of reference. Category:Consciousness Category:Quantum Category:Ideas Category:Relativity Category:General Relativity